Your comment about Finix seems deliberately crafted to convey you did not speak with Sequoia but at the same time not denying that you spoke (made decision without suggestions).
So to clarify, are you saying that Stripe did not speak with Sequoia about Finix?
Or that Sequoia "made their own decision", while they have spoken with Stripe about Finix?
Also, we I like to always keep in mind that sometimes resentment dominates the desire to share a certain story, and without knowing anything about the transaction referred above, I'd say it's quite clear that temp7536 has at least some resentment or envy over Stripe's success.
Final thought (not referring to Stripe nor Sequoia in particular): yes, most companies, and most VCs, are sharks. I was recently reminded of that twice, and probably lost large sums of money in the process (again: nothing to do with Stripe nor with Sequoia). I think it's a rule that have always applied to life, in general, and it won't stop being applied just because we have the internet.
I simply hope that things like the Panama Papers, Wikileaks, and such, will eventually bring more financial transparency to the world, and make it harder for these sharks to keep feasting on their prey.
Same SV story, different decade.
https://avibarzeev.medium.com/was-google-earth-stolen-7d1b82...
https://johnmccrea.medium.com/why-the-billion-dollar-code-is...